Theriot

CHICAGO -- It's the final month of the baseball season, and for non-contenders such as the Cubs, it's judgment time for kids and veterans alike. Even supposed lame-duck Manager Dusty Baker wants to see some pluck from his team. "You don't want to see anybody thinking about the winter or thinking about football season or any of that kind of stuff," Baker said Friday. "That's one thing I've never allowed." Baker may not be around to see youngsters such as Rich Hill and Ryan Theriot try to prove that what happens in September isn't always an end-of-season fluke.

Former Cubs second baseman Ryan Theriot returns to Wrigley Field , where he was booed last year for saying he was finally "on the right side" of the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry. Now that Theriot is with San Francisco, he's hoping he'll get a different reception. "This is home, this is where I had my first taste of the big leagues, two division championships here," he said. "You always enjoy coming back to your first club for sure. " Will they treat him better now that he's not wearing red?

When contemporary artist Keith Theriot approaches a blank canvas, he lets the splattering of paint or random brush strokes dictate what forms emerge. "I like the idea of making the paint speak," said Theriot, who lives in the MetroWest area of Orlando. "It's almost more about the paint than the end result. This is the paint creating the figure." Theriot uses this "expressionistic" technique, sometimes called action painting, to create vibrant movement of paint and color outlined by one or more figures.

It's hard to imagine now, but only two years ago the Cubs' rotation consisted of Ryan Dempster , Carlos Zambrano , Ted Lilly and Randy Wells , with Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny sharing the No. 5 role. "The trade for Silva was a timely one," Lou Piniella said at the end of spring training . "And the trade for Gorzelanny gives us depth. " Not so timely, as it turned out, and not really much depth either. But those days seem like eons ago. With most of those starters long gone and Dempster currently on the disabled list, Wells, Jeff Samardzija and Carlos Marmol are the only mainstays remaining from the Piniella era, along with James Russell , then a rookie.

Herbert Theriot, a cowboy from Wiggins, Miss., parlayed his skills in steer wrestling, calf roping and team roping into a $3,571 payday and the 84th Silver Spurs Rodeo's all-around championship before Sunday's near-capacity turnout of more than 9,300 fans.Theroit, 23, also won a $1,200 hand-tooled saddle, symbolic of the all-around title presented to the cowboy winning the most money in two or more events.Clay O'Brien Cooper of Gilbert, Ariz., who has teamed with Jake Barnes of Bloomfield, N.M., to win five consecutive Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association team roping championships, was a distant runner-up with $2,562 won in calf and team roping.

KISSIMMEE - Cowboys say it's bad luck to eat popcorn before a rodeo.But a cup of hot coffee, along with a plate of beef and beans, are just the thing on a cold, windy afternoon, like Sunday's finals of the 102nd Silver Spurs Rodeo.More than 550 members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competed for $100,000 in the three-day event.A crowd of 5,000 was on hand under threatening gray skies Sunday, pushing attendance to 16,000 for the weekend.The all-around Cowboy title, worth $2,985.

WHAT: This new gallery is the brainchild of artist James Hedges and is adjacent to his bed-and-breakfast, Cavatappi, on the shores of Rock Lake, just west of downtown and north of the Citrus Bowl. The first exhibit will be "Pre-View" by photographer Josh Garrick and painter Keith Theriot. Pictured is 'Ceres' by Theriot. WHEN: Opening reception 7-9 p.m. Wednesday. The exhibit runs through June 29. WHERE: Hedgecross Gallery, 319 Ventura Ave., Orlando. COST: Free. CALL: 407-304-8106.

Solid efforts in calf roping and steer wrestling Saturday have given Herbert Theriot a leg up on winning a second consecutive Silver Spurs Rodeo all-around championship.The cowboy winning the most money in two or more events wins a $1,400 hand-tooled saddle as a bonus. More than 450 cowboys and cowgirls are vying for a share of $85,000 in purse money in the 86th edition of the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi River.Theriot, 24, from Wiggins, Miss., was the 1984 high school all-around state champion.

The sponsor of a strict anti-abortion bill vetoed by Gov. Buddy Roemer said Saturday he will push for an override vote early this week. Democratic Rep. Sam Theriot said he is confident he has enough votes, even though the Legislature has not overturned a veto in this century. Theriot said he planned to rally supporters Monday and push for an override vote by Tuesday. Abortion-rights activists expected the Legislature to sustain Roemer, as it did when the governor vetoed a stricter bill last year.

Despite going 0-2 at the plate, Ryan Theriot was the offensive hero for Baton Rouge, La., as the Red Sticks beat the Florida Express, 3-0, Saturday to capture the title game at the AAU 18-under Baseball National Championship at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. Theriot finished with two RBIs.His first came when he drew a bases-loaded walk from Florida starter Taylor Wood in the second inning. Theriot got the game-winning RBI without having to swing the bat.''That was the first time I've ever had that happen,'' Theriot said.

Nearly two weeks after the unveiling of a statue of former Syracuse RB Ernie Davis that mistakenly depicts him wearing Nike shoes, sculptor Bruno Lucchesi is still waiting to make the corrections. He remains stunned at what has transpired since the statue was unveiled Sept. 13. "I was shocked to learn that the material given to me for the helmet and the cleats were mistaken," Lucchesi said in a statement. "I want to make it clear that I did exactly what I was asked to do and the mistake was not made by me. They told me that they were thrilled with it."

WHAT: This new gallery is the brainchild of artist James Hedges and is adjacent to his bed-and-breakfast, Cavatappi, on the shores of Rock Lake, just west of downtown and north of the Citrus Bowl. The first exhibit will be "Pre-View" by photographer Josh Garrick and painter Keith Theriot. Pictured is 'Ceres' by Theriot. WHEN: Opening reception 7-9 p.m. Wednesday. The exhibit runs through June 29. WHERE: Hedgecross Gallery, 319 Ventura Ave., Orlando. COST: Free. CALL: 407-304-8106.

No position in baseball is more important than shortstop. Both of Chicago's teams are approaching the 2008 season with an eye on getting to the playoffs. Yet the White Sox and the Cubs both appear committed to winning despite -- not because of -- their shortstops. Juan Uribe and Ryan Theriot look like second-division regulars. Both are solid fielders -- the unorthodox Uribe is reliable and uses a powerful throwing arm to get outs on grounders to his right that many shortstops, including Theriot, could not; Theriot combines toughness with hustle to overcome marginal tools.

When contemporary artist Keith Theriot approaches a blank canvas, he lets the splattering of paint or random brush strokes dictate what forms emerge. "I like the idea of making the paint speak," said Theriot, who lives in the MetroWest area of Orlando. "It's almost more about the paint than the end result. This is the paint creating the figure." Theriot uses this "expressionistic" technique, sometimes called action painting, to create vibrant movement of paint and color outlined by one or more figures.

CHICAGO -- It's the final month of the baseball season, and for non-contenders such as the Cubs, it's judgment time for kids and veterans alike. Even supposed lame-duck Manager Dusty Baker wants to see some pluck from his team. "You don't want to see anybody thinking about the winter or thinking about football season or any of that kind of stuff," Baker said Friday. "That's one thing I've never allowed." Baker may not be around to see youngsters such as Rich Hill and Ryan Theriot try to prove that what happens in September isn't always an end-of-season fluke.

Karen Theriot, 33,and daughter Kaley, 7 New Orleans Their story: Karen Theriot, 33, and daughter Kaley, 7, fled their rented house in the heart of uptown New Orleans the day before Hurricane Katrina struck. They packed into a friend's Firebird with four other people, leaving behind three dogs and all of their belongings in the basement. "We were supposed to move the day Katrina hit. So everything was ready to go. There was 8 feet of water in our house. So we lost it all," said Theriot, a bartender and singer.

It's not unusual for Herbert Theriot to spend $14.80 filling the gas tank of his pickup truck. Sometimes, the cowboy from Wiggins, Miss., drops that much on snacks at airport lunch counters while galloping to and from rodeos.But having $14.80 more than Joe Beaver at the conclusion of December's National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas bought Theriot a world calf roping championship, his first after four near misses since turning pro in 1986.In the closest calf roping championship race since 1945, the first year the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association kept accurate records, Theriot's event-record $151,922 edged Beaver, a five-time world champ, by $14.80.

Karen Theriot, 33,and daughter Kaley, 7 New Orleans Their story: Karen Theriot, 33, and daughter Kaley, 7, fled their rented house in the heart of uptown New Orleans the day before Hurricane Katrina struck. They packed into a friend's Firebird with four other people, leaving behind three dogs and all of their belongings in the basement. "We were supposed to move the day Katrina hit. So everything was ready to go. There was 8 feet of water in our house. So we lost it all," said Theriot, a bartender and singer.

KISSIMMEE - Cowboys say it's bad luck to eat popcorn before a rodeo.But a cup of hot coffee, along with a plate of beef and beans, are just the thing on a cold, windy afternoon, like Sunday's finals of the 102nd Silver Spurs Rodeo.More than 550 members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competed for $100,000 in the three-day event.A crowd of 5,000 was on hand under threatening gray skies Sunday, pushing attendance to 16,000 for the weekend.The all-around Cowboy title, worth $2,985.

Despite going 0-2 at the plate, Ryan Theriot was the offensive hero for Baton Rouge, La., as the Red Sticks beat the Florida Express, 3-0, Saturday to capture the title game at the AAU 18-under Baseball National Championship at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. Theriot finished with two RBIs.His first came when he drew a bases-loaded walk from Florida starter Taylor Wood in the second inning. Theriot got the game-winning RBI without having to swing the bat.''That was the first time I've ever had that happen,'' Theriot said.